His Invitation

'There he told the apostles, “Keep praying for strength to be spared from the severe test of your faith that is about to come.”' Luke 22:40

Jesus knew what lay ahead. He invited His disciples to be in prayer with him. He invited them into intimacy. Intimacy connects their hearts to His. They had walked with Him for three years every day. Yet, they still didn’t understand what was about to happen. Pastor Tim shared a description of what Jesus was facing. 

“Imagine someone’s coming to take you and you’re fixing to go through the worst torture of your life. You’re perfect. You’re sinless, and you have done nothing wrong.” 

You have read the Garden of Gethsemane prayer by Jesus, but have you really stepped into the understanding of the agony He was feeling. He cried out to Abba- yet He knew this was His place of laying it all down to do the will of the Father. He was showing His disciples how to face the trials ahead for them but when He was finished praying he found them asleep. 

“When Jesus finished praying, he got up and went to his disciples and found them all asleep, for they were exhausted and overwhelmed with sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “You need to be alert and pray for the strength to endure the great temptation.” Luke 22: 45, 46

How could they be sleeping at this moment? What if the temptation we face is falling into hopelessness, sorrow and grief when things are not going the way we thought they would or should? 

This is the very reason Jesus asked them to pray with Him because when I pray, I connect my heart to Him for His purpose, not mine. His will; not mine. When our heart is connected to Him, we walk in what Jesus describes as “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus always knows what is ahead for us and invites us in moments each day to connect to His heart because when we are connected, we respond differently to situations and circumstances as opposed to when we are not. This is where building habits to connect with Him comes into play.

How is Jesus inviting you to pray in this moment right now?